


thomas jefferson pays for everyone

by ErisedEloquence



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Humor, aaron just wants to be a normal student, but honestly i couldn't completely make it gen, but it is technically gen, he really needs to chill, i tried not to make it shippy because i just wanted to write about tjeff paying for stuff, james just wants his thomas to be safe and happy, john is very dramatic, oh! i guess it's:, there is slight or implied jeffmads
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-07
Updated: 2017-01-07
Packaged: 2018-09-15 14:03:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9238124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErisedEloquence/pseuds/ErisedEloquence
Summary: “I let Thomas Jefferson pay for my drink.” he said very, very loudly.Lafayette rubbed his eyes, “yes, you did.”Upon hearing that, John dramatically dropped down next to the couch. “I have officially become the devil’s bitch, I can’t believe this.”“shut up, he paid for all our drinks.” Hercules mumbled from under his blanket.“so we’re all the devil’s bitches? That’s not better, Herc, what the fuck?”---or the one where thomas pays for everyone, but everyone is scared because wtf.





	

**Author's Note:**

> idk what this is, i just started thinking of thomas paying for everything and everyone and doing it casually and not really caring that he does it? he just does it 'cause he has money and he wants to? idk i saw this scene in my head of thomas and alex having a screaming match in a coffee shop, and then thomas pays for both - still screaming at alex - and hands alex his coffee and then they walk out, still screaming.... but I definitely don't have that in my fic so :)  
> i also had some vague idea of making this jamilton but it's very much not???? 
> 
> enjoy the mess of tenses in this lmao!

Washington must really hate Alexander, because he’s assigned him into a group project with _Madison_ and _Jefferson._

While Alex might definitely always fight with Jefferson, he’d never been alone with him. So he complains to his friends for a week straight before Angelica relents and proposes an icebreaker of sorts: “how about we take them both out to dinner, see if we can’t be less hostile?”

So that’s where they were right now; a restaurant near campus, the ten of them (Peggy was spending the weekend with her sisters) around a table, being civil.

“No, you know what, it’s better to let someone think you’re an idiot than to open your mouth and fucking prove it, Jefferson!”

Well, as civil as they _can_ be.

Thomas rolled his eyes, “Wow, Hamilton, you truly have a way with words, and you know.. I’d really like to see things from your point of view but I can’t seem to get my head that far up my ass..”

“Oh, fuck you!” John might’ve said that a little too loudly if the glares of their waiter were anything to go by. “At least Alex’s point has merit, what the fuck good is your idea, huh?”

They’d been arguing seemingly since the moment they sat down, and didn’t seem to be letting up.

The rest of the group had decided early on to just ignore them. Peggy, Aaron, and James were the only ones still paying attention - for three different reasons. Peggy was avidly waiting to see if Alexander would cry again ( _“it was one time, Peggy, what the fuck”_ ), Aaron was watching to make sure John doesn’t start throwing punches ( _“fuck yeah I'll punch someone as stupid as Jefferson”_ ), and James was paying attention to make sure Thomas is doing alright, he does suffer from anxiety and Laurens and Hamilton tended to make it worse ( _“you’re an actual angel, Jemmy, what would I do without you?”_ ). 

They three are still arguing when the rest of the group finish their dinner. Angelica calling their waiter over, “Can we have the check, please?”

They’re still arguing when the waiter comes back with the check. Thomas, still telling Alexander exactly how much of a dumb fuck he was, hands his card over to the annoyed waiter, not taking his eyes off the two fuming men in front of him.

(Aaron decided never to seat those three near each other ever again)

The rest of the table, sans James, John, and Alex, are staring at Thomas, befuddled. 

The three are still arguing when the waiter comes back, and hands Thomas his card. 

Thomas, John, and Alex get up, still arguing and start heading for the door. Thomas pauses halfway and turns back, confused, “Jemmy, you coming?” 

James looks around at the skeptical faces around the table, sighs, and gets up.

\------------------------

The group, minus Thomas and James, reconvene at Aaron, Alex, and John’s apartment after the dinner.

“Okay, I'll be the one to say it.” Hercules started. “It was weird that Jefferson paid for dinner, wasn’t it?”

Everyone slowly nodded.

John shook his head, “how did I not even notice?”

Aaron rolled his eyes, “you were too busy asking if his ass was jealous of the amount of shit that comes out of his mouths.”

Chuckling, John shrugged, “listen. I’m not wrong.” he clapped his hands, “back on the topic at hand! What is Jefferson’s ulterior motive?”

“Does he have to have one?” Eliza asked doubtfully.

Alex slowly stood up, “my dear Elizabeth, what the actual fuck.”

John nodding aggressively, eyes wide, “it’s definitely some kind of ploy!”

“For what, exactly?” Aaron dryly asked while making his way to his room, he was too tired to handle a night of John’s conspiracy theories.

“I don’t know, Burr!” John shrugged sarcastically, “evil things? He’s evil!”

* * *

Everyone forgets about it, mainly because they don’t get the chance to see Thomas anywhere outside of class.

The chance presents itself a week later, when Eliza walks into the campus coffee shop in search of coffee. She truly despised 8am classes.

She walked into the cafe and froze. Thomas was standing in line, messing around on his phone. She hesitated, unsure whether she should say anything, just wait in line quietly, or just walk out coffee be damned. Ultimately, the early hour made the decision for her. She stood in line, right behind Thomas. She wasn’t sure if she should talk to him, but John’s words came back to her; _“he’s up to something, I'm telling you!”_

She took a deep breath and, ignoring the little voice telling her she’d never been around him alone before, tapped him on the shoulder.

He turned around, confused, before, “Elizabeth. Good morning!”

She was slightly weirded out by the polite greeting, but replied in kind. Unfortunately, he turned back to his phone and she didn’t know what else to say.

“I wasn’t aware you had class this early?”

She jumped at the question. “um, yeah.” she met his eyes - friendly -, “I have Lee, actually.”

She watched his eyes widen in recognition. “Oh! Jemmy has that class, too, he can’t stop complaining about Lee.” fondness colored his eyes. “Tell me, is Lee really that bad?” he asked teasingly.

And Eliza, as much in shock as she was, smiled and told him how shit a professor Lee is. She tried not to be surprised at how friendly Jefferson was being, but couldn’t help it. She imagined John and Alex’s faces when she told them about this, and had to hold back a laugh.

By the time it was Jefferson’s turn to order, they’d been talking for a few minutes, and Eliza felt a little comfortable around him - not fully though, Alex and John’s screams that Jefferson was evil were still ringing in her ears.

Jefferson smiled at her one last time and went up to order.

When Eliza was called up, she greeted the barista and ordered. 

When she took out her wallet to pay though, the barista stopped her with an apologetic smile. “It’s alright, the man before you paid for you already!”

Eliza didn’t know what to think. She turned around to see if he was still there, but evidently he’d already gotten his order and left.

\------------------------

“He was so hitting on you!” John yelled.

If she had three wishes, Eliza would first wish for world peace because she’s not a monster. Second, she’d wish for Maria to show her any kind of signal on whether or not she was interested in her. Third, she’d wish for Alex and John to chill and stop yelling so much.

She sighed. “I don’t think he was. Honestly, all we talked about was how terrible Lee was, not exactly flirting material.”

John scoffed. “That’s what he _wants_ you to think! He’s seducing you, Eliza. The devil is seducing you and you are falling for it!”

Him and Alex kept arguing their stupid point, very loudly, and after a while, even Angelica seemed to be on their side - though she did look a little unsure.

Eliza wanted to tell them she didn’t think Jefferson was interested in women. And if he was so inclined, she was sure he already had someone in mind. Wanted to tell them about the fondness in his eyes and voice when he spoke about Madison. But… it really wasn’t her place, so she just rolled her eyes at her friends and kept quiet.

* * *

Out of their group, Hercules and Aaron were definitely the responsible ones. Not that Hercules liked that title, but living with Lafayette forced him to take responsibility most of the time. Aaron, living with the menaces that were John and Alex, felt the same.

(Aaron also spent countless hours asking god what he did to deserve such a punishment.)

So, late on a Wednesday night, Aaron and Hercules found themselves at the grocery store.

“John likes cinnamon toast crunch, and Alex is partial to cookie crisp.” Aaron told Hercules so the taller man could get them off the shelves.

Hercules grabbed the two, along with cheerios for his roommate. “You want anything?”

“Cereal isn’t my breakfast of choice, but thank you.”

The both turn at the sound of a familiar voice. Thomas Jefferson rounds the corner to their aisle, one hand pushing his cart, the other holding his phone to his ear. “I get what you’re saying, Jemmy, but consider this. I _want_ to eat mac and cheese for breakfast.” 

The two saw the teasing smile he was sporting, and the fondness in his eyes, and both immediately thought back to John claiming Thomas was hitting on Eliza.

His demeanor changes very inconspicuously, you wouldn’t notice unless you were paying attention; the fondness in his eyes disappearing quickly, leaving only simple friendliness, and the smile went from teasing to polite. 

“I gotta go, Mads.” he listened to whatever Madison was saying. “Yeah, yeah, I promise not to buy the whole thing… bye.” he glanced up at the two men still staring at him, “you, too.”

He put his phone in his pocket and smiled at the men, “stuck with the groceries, too, huh?”

Hercules and Aaron glanced at each other, they’d never been alone with Jefferson, nor have they seen him so relaxed. Hercules eventually nodded, “yup. Either we suck it up and do the shopping, or live off pizza and cold chinese take-out with our roommates. We decided to go with the shopping.”

Nodding, Thomas pretended to be serious, the glint in his eyes the only thing giving him away, “ah yes, a very common occurrence with college students; death by laziness.”

Laughing, the three go their separate ways to finish their shopping. It takes Hercules and Aaron another twenty minutes to get everything they needed and head to the register, finding themselves in line with Jefferson.

There are two people before them, so the three make small talk to pass the time. Small talk that turns into friendly debate on which cereal is the best. 

Hercules and Aaron don’t notice when they reach the register, don’t notice while they’re loading their groceries, don’t notice until Thomas is paying for his _own_ purchases. They look at the bags in their hands and then back at him. 

He must feel their gaze, because he turns from the small talk he was making with the blushing cashier and frowns in confusion, “everything okay?”

They both nodded slowly, unsure if it would be impolite to ask. He shrugged and payed for his things, taking his bags and bidding them goodbye. He took his phone out and walked towards the exit, the last thing they heard is a dramatic “Jemmy, I _lied!_ ”

The two turn to the cashier, “did he pay for our things?”

Shrugging, the man nodded, “yup.”

* * *

Hercules being the one to drive them to the store, he makes the stop at his apartment to drop off his groceries, before making the rest of the journey to Aaron’s place.

The apartment occupants are there, along with Lafayette and Eliza. 

Laying down on the empty, apart from Lafayette, couch, Hercules cushions his head on his roommate’s lap, and tells the rest of his friends what happened. Tells them how friendly Jefferson was, how they didn’t even notice he’d paid, how he didn’t make a big deal out of it.

John frowned. “Um, I am definitely not eating food paid for by the devil, what the fuck.”

Aaron, rolling his eyes, took out the cinnamon toast crunch cereal and waved it in front of John. “So, I should throw this out, then?”

Eyeing it for a second, John grabbed it and hugged it close. “I suppose I shouldn’t stop eating just because of the devil… that’s not healthy…”

The others shook their heads and laughed at him.

Alex, on the other hand, was staring at Hercules with wide eyes. “Hercules I am _insulted!_ How can you call jeffershit ‘friendly’? This betrayal cuts deep, man.”

They spend their night discussing what might be going on with Jefferson, but don’t reach an agreement.

* * *

A couple of days later finds John, Lafayette, Hercules, Eliza, and Angelica at a bar.

John, slightly past tipsy, volunteers to buy the next round of drinks. That proves to be harder than he initially thought. The bar is crowded, more so than the dance floor, and two large men unknowingly trap him between them. He’s valiantly attempting to squeeze his way out when an arm wrapped around his waist and pulled him to a taller man.

John looked up and was met with the mess of curls belonging to Thomas Jefferson. He felt dumbfounded, and is sure he looked it. Thomas rolled his eyes, “You looked like you were about to be crushed to death.” John was affronted but didn’t argue; he was on the wrong side of tipsy to do that.

Jefferson easily maneuvered them to the bar. “What are you having?” 

The question is directed at John. He blinked in confusion for a second before rattling off his and his friends’ orders.

Jefferson ordered, paid, and handed him the drink, before guiding him away from the insanity of the bar. John kept expecting him to say something, anything really, but Jefferson seemed busy searching for someone. Someone he apparently found because he nodded down towards John, waited a moment before other hands were around John’s waist, and then he was gone. 

John turned around to find a smirking Lafayette behind him.

John decided to get monumentally drunk.

\------------------------

The next day, John woke up slowly and decided against opening his eyes and facing the headache that’ll follow. He took a deep breath, cuddled his covers, and thought back to the previous night.

The memories came crashing back, and he sprung up from bed, ignoring the pounding in his head.

He found Lafayette and Hercules asleep on the couch.

“I let _Thomas Jefferson_ pay for my drink.” he said very, very loudly.

There was a moment of silence before Laf slowly blinked his eyes open, Hercules groaned and pulled the blanket over his head, and Alex appeared out of his dark room rubbing his eyes. John waited for Aaron before remembering he was staying with his girlfriend after he found out they were going out, saying _“I refuse to be here when you messes return.”_

Lafayette rubbed his eyes, “yes, you did.”

Upon hearing that, John dramatically dropped down next to the couch. “I have officially become the devil’s bitch, I can’t believe this.”

Alex made his way over to him, cuddled him tightly, and then promptly fell asleep.

“Shut up, he paid for all our drinks.” Hercules mumbled from under his blanket.

John groaned loudly, before lowering his voice when Alex moaned tiredly in his arms, “so we’re all the devil’s bitches? That’s not better, Herc, what the fuck?”

Lafayette giggled above him, “calm down, I am starting to think he doesn’t do it consciously…”

“What do you mean?” John frowned.

Humming, Lafayette stretched languidly. “Not quite sure, yet. But he never makes a big deal out of it, which is not like Thomas, so maybe he does not even realize he’s doing it?”

John pouted in response. “So we’re non-consensually taking the devil’s money?”

Lafayette’s hand came down to run through his hair. “No, that is not what I mean, darling. Let’s just wait and see, yeah?”

John huffed but didn’t pursue the subject further.

(Thank god for small miracles)

* * *

Alexander Hamilton would like it to go on record that this situation is bullshit.

He slumped down on the bench in the pretty crowded jail cell. He’d gotten into a fistfight and apparently that’s ‘illegal’ or some shit. The cops completely disregarded that the other guy was an asshole who deserved it. He was now stuck in this jail cell until Laf came and bailed him out. At least the people in the cell with him were cool and could hold decent conversation.

Two hours after he’d called Lafayette, a cop came and unlocked the cell. “Hamilton? Your bail’s paid. Come on.”

Alex got up, sent a silent thank you to Laf for being reliable, and said goodbye to his jail-friends.

Once he’s officially out, he set about looking for his friend. He stood there for a long moment looking around, but couldn’t find Lafayette anywhere.

He as beginning to worry when he caught sight of --- no. Lafayette would not do this. Oh, Alex was going to fucking kill him. Bye bye, frenchman, you’re _dead_. Hercules and John might get angry, but Alex didn’t give a fuck. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself; maybe Jefferson was there because Madison was arrested…. Okay, yeah, that’s a stupid thought.

He looked around again, but the only person he recognized was a tired looking Jefferson leaning against a wall, eyelids drooping, ready to pass out any moment. 

He closed his eyes for a moment, allowing himself a second of peace, before he stalked over to the tired man. “Jefferson, what are you doing here?”

Jefferson jumped at the loud voice and tried to, unsuccessfully, rub the sleepiness out of his eyes, “Laf called me to bail you out…” he mumbled. “Who even gets in a fight so late at night on a fucking Tuesday, Hamilton, what the actual fuck? Why weren’t you sleeping or studying or I don’t know, _at home_?”

Alex flushed in anger. “Fuck you. Just tell me how much I owe you.”

Jefferson frowned in confusion, before shaking his head, “what? No, but seriously, why the fuck were you out so late?”

The memory of Lafayette saying maybe Jefferson really didn’t think much about paying for people came back to Alex, and he took in the man in front of him; looking confused as to what Alex would ‘owe’ him - Alex took him in and thought maybe the dead frenchman was onto something. “None of your business, now drive me home.”

\------------------------

After yelling at his backstabbing friend, Alex decided to take pity on Lafayette and not kill him.

They’d all gathered at Alex’s apartment to discuss The Situation.

(Aaron simply sighing in acceptance and making everyone tea and coffee.)

“I can’t handle this anymore!” John exclaimed, “we need to figure this shit out.”

Alex nodded next to him, wrapping his arm around the freckled boy’s shoulders. “We need a plan.”

Angelica, from her position on the couch she’d claimed entirely for herself, hummed. “How about we orchestrate a situation where there’s something to be paid for, something with a decent bill that’s not too large that we’d be forced to feel guilty but not too cheap that it wouldn’t mean anything, and see if he pays for it?”

“That actually sounds like a good idea.” Lafayette slowly said.

Insulted, Angelica raised an eyebrow, “why the surprise, frenchfry?”

Lafayette just met her glare and shrugged, not answering.

John clapped to get the attention back to himself. “Okay! We’ll go over to Herc and Laf’s, invite Jefferson and Madison over, order an obscene number of pizzas and see what would happen?”

“Why mine and Laf’s though?”

John took the tea Aaron offered him, taking a small sip before answering. “‘Cause I refuse to have the devil so close to where I sleep.”

They all agreed to the plan.

Aaron chiming in, “this is the most ridiculous thing you’ve obsessed over. And that’s including the time you wanted to know whether professor Washington wears boxers or briefs.”

To which Alex rolled his eyes, “um that was not ridiculous.”

Angelica joining, “it was important. And still is. What the fuck, Aaron, are you not one of us?”

Aaron just sighed and went to his room.

A blanket of silence settled around them before Eliza broke it. “We’re college students.”

“Yeah, and?”

She shook her head slowly. “We’re college students. We have finals coming up. We have projects that need to be finalized. We have actual jobs to do. Why _are_ we obsessing over this?”

More quiet before John took the liberty of answering her. “So you’re telling me you don’t wanna know why _Thomas freaking Jefferson_ keeps paying for our shit?”

“Nah, that’s not what I'm saying… I definitely wanna know, but god…” she slumped down in her seat, “we’re so lame.”

Agreeing hums came from everyone in the room.

Lafayette took out his phone and texted Thomas the invitation.

* * *

Thomas draped himself across James’ back. “Do we have to go?”

Gently pushing him away, James went back to getting dressed. “You’re the one who agreed to go, not me…”

“But I wanted to watch a movie and cuddle tonight…” 

James met the eyes of the man pouting behind him in the mirror, and tried his hardest not to smile, “if you really want to, I'll call and cancel for you.” he saw Thomas’ eyes soften, “ _but_ if the only reason you want to say home is because you want to cuddle… well, I'll cuddle you there.”

Wonder was bright in Thomas’ eyes as he stepped closer to the other man. “You’d do that? I thought you didn’t like doing that stuff around other people?”

James turned around and started fixing Thomas’ shirt, “what stuff? Showing people that I care about you? I’m pretty sure they already know, Thomas, it’s pretty hard for anyone not to see how much I care.”

James glanced down and saw Thomas’ hands twitch forward before tightening into fists at his side, and breathed out a laugh. “Come here, you idiot.” he pulled the taller man into a hug. 

Breaking apart, Thomas cleared his throat and nodded decisively, “okay. We’re going to a movie night with the Hamilton squad. Great.”

James laughed at his sour expression and pulled him out the door.

\------------------------

Later that night, at Hercules and Lafayette’s apartment, the nine are hanging around the place. They wanted to wait for the pizzas before starting any movie.

They’d strategized it so Jefferson was closest to the door. They felt very much like scientists with an experiment.

Thomas was talking to Eliza on the couch nearest to the door. He was telling her about his home in Virginia, and how beautiful it was; “you really should come visit the place sometime, you’ll love it!”

James was across the room, with Aaron and Hercules, but wasn’t paying attention to the two, instead focused on how happy Thomas looked - he needed to be paying attention in case he was needed.

When they heard the knock on the door, all seven “scientists” (Aaron resented the title) turned to look at the door.

Thomas, glanced at the door behind him, and started moving towards it, still telling Eliza about his trip to Paris. 

He opened the door, took the mountain of pizzas, paid the large bill, and then must’ve given the delivery guy a huge tip as well if the look on the kid’s face was anything to go by, before closing the door, placing the pizzas on the coffee table, and then going back to Eliza to finish his story.

Everyone is the apartment was silently staring at him. 

James looked around and started thinking maybe this wasn’t a simple friendly invite. He slowly made his way to where Thomas was standing. 

There was a beat of quiet before Alex and John simultaneously exclaimed, “what the actual fuck.”

Thomas stopped talking once he realized everyone else was silent and staring at him, he met James’ eyes with his confused ones. “What?”

Gearing himself up for a fight, James moved even closer to Thomas, but before anyone could say anything, Thomas’ phone started ringing and he took it out, “oh, crap, it’s my partner on Payne’s project, excuse me.” and headed for the empty kitchen, leaving everyone staring at where he’d been standing.

Sighing, James sat down. “This is about the paying.”

John nodded emphatically, “no shit, it is!”

“He fucking _bailed me out_ , Madison! He didn’t even ask for the money back!” Alex threw his hands in the air, exasperated, “he doesn’t loan us shit, he just pays, and we’re so fucking confused!”

Raising his hand to silence the group, James looked at the kitchen doorway, “okay…” he wasn’t sure how much he should reveal; no one knew about Thomas’ upbringing except for him, and he definitely was not about to share all the details. But, looking around the group staring at him with wide, questioning eyes, he knew they weren’t going to stop prying, and would probably do or say something to hurt his Thomas, so better he throw them a bone.

“I don’t think I need to tell you all that Thomas comes from wealth--”

John rolled his eyes, and sarcastically said, “no, really? How shocking!”

James chose to ignore him. “when he was younger, his parents, mostly his dad, would boast about their wealth, would tell him they were better than others because of it. I was Thomas’ friend at that point and he’d come to me sometimes, upset, because he didn’t think he was better than me just ‘cause he had more money. He would give money to the homeless, to charity, to anyone in need, but when his parents found out… it wasn’t pretty.” he looked around at the skeptical faces looking back at him and felt pity for them; they truly thought Thomas was a bad person. “His parents would buy themselves so much _garbage_ and would look down on any friends of Thomas’ that weren’t on the same status, including me, maybe especially me because of how close me and Thomas were - _are._ ” James strained his ears to hear Thomas in the kitchen but from the sounds of it, he was still busy. “Thomas was always so confused, never really saw why he shouldn’t pay for things the people he cared about wanted or needed, he thought since he had the money, it was the least he could do. So after his parents passed away and he got his inheritance, that’s what he did. And honestly, I tried to stop him but he truly does this to show he cares…”

It was quiet for a while, the only sounds those of Thomas’ voice coming from the kitchen.

But, like always when Alex or John were present, the quiet didn’t last. John cried out, “you’re saying jeffershit _cares_ about us?”

James stiffened, “it would do you well not to call him that, but yes. God knows why, but he does.”

They obviously had a lot to say, to ask, but they didn’t have the chance when Thomas came sauntering into the room. “Jesus, you’d think people in a college as prestigious as this would have _some_ brain cells, but apparently not.” he dropped down next to James, tugging on his arm so he’d sit closer to him. 

“Oh!” Thomas widened his eyes looking at Alex and John, obviously gearing for an insult, to which the two straightened, “pardon me, I keep forgetting you two go to this school.” he looked at them with fake innocence. 

John opened his mouth to retaliate before his eyes caught the pizza, he met James’ eyes and deflated slightly. “You know what, Jefferson. I wasn’t born with enough middle fingers to show you how I feel about you.”

Everyone listening could hear that there was little to no heat behind his words, just barely hidden confusion.

Thomas just laughed, pulling a pizza box closer to him, “Can we start the movie now, or…?”

**Author's Note:**

> so. i really wanted to make thomas and james kiss but then i just didn't? idk i'm writing a fic where thomas has major anxiety and james is his anchor and i guess some of that seeped into this? 
> 
> anyway, i wrote this in one sitting 'cause i wanted it out of my head so it probably has a bunch of mistakes, but i hope you enjoy it anyway!
> 
> [find me on tumblr at the same name]


End file.
